Chương 37: Bonus Story : Stars Wars : Part 1 : The Marathon

The day was slowly winding down when the door of the real estate agency swung open. Emma was the last to leave, her bag slung over one shoulder and her phone already in hand. She took a deep breath of the cooler evening air before spotting a familiar figure waiting across the street. The moment she saw him, Aldric crossed as soon as the pedestrian light turned green.

For the past few days, he had made a habit of waiting faithfully for the little glowing figure, convinced it was an official order issued by the city itself. Emma smiled as she watched him stand there so seriously while several pedestrians crossed anyway despite the red light.

"Good evening, Emma."

"Good evening, Aldric." He placed a fist against his chest before bowing his head.

"I hope your guild's affairs have been prosperous today." Emma let out a soft laugh.

"We don't really talk like that here, but yes, it was a good day. What about you?"

"I completed several administrative quests."

"Oh?"

"I finally learned the purpose of a mailbox." Emma raised an eyebrow.

"That's already quite an achievement." They began strolling through the streets of Paris. Over the past few days, these evening walks had quietly become a habit. Emma would explain the little peculiarities of modern life while Aldric listened with unwavering attention.

"Oh, by the way..." Aldric turned toward her.

"Yes?"

"There's a Star Wars marathon at the cinema this Saturday."

"How long is the route?"

"... Excuse me?"

"How many kilometers?"

"Kilometers?"

"Yes. You said it was a marathon." Emma burst out laughing.

"You're kidding, right? Wait... you thought I meant an actual race?"

"That is, by definition, what a marathon is." In my kingdom, royal messengers sometimes traveled more than fifty kilometers in light armor to warn an army of an invasion. Some heroes also faced that kind of trial before a military campaign. Emma pressed her lips together to keep from laughing again.

"No... well... not that kind."

"I don't understand."

"It's a movie marathon."

"You watch movies while running?" Emma could already tell this conversation was about to get complicated.

"No."

"Are the films shown after the race?"

"No."

"During the breaks?"

"Still no."

"Then where does the running come in?" Emma burst out laughing again.

"There isn't any."

"Why call it a marathon if there is no marathon?"

"Well... we call it that because you watch several movies back-to-back."

"For how long?"

"All day."

"I understand."

"Oh, finally."

"So it is a test of mental endurance."

"Not exactly..."

"The participants must remain focused for several hours."

"Well... sort of..."

"Without leaving their post."

"Not quite."

"I see." Emma sighed inwardly. He clearly didn't.

"Are there many participants?"

"Oh yes. It's almost sold out."

"So there is genuine competition."

"No!"

"No rankings?"

"None."

"No winner?"

"None."

"Then why call it a marathon?" Emma looked up at the sky.

"I think we're going in circles."

"Probably."

"The whole idea is just to spend the day watching Star Wars." The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

"I must watch all of them?"

"Exactly."

"In that case, I gladly accept your invitation."

"Perfect." She told herself she probably should have explained a few more details. But then again... what could possibly go wrong? They eventually arrived in front of the hotel where Aldric was staying. He was about to head inside when he turned back.

"One last question."

"I'm listening."

"What time should we begin our training?"

"You're really not letting that go, are you?"

"Don't worry."

"All right."

"I'll take care of everything."

"In that case, I trust you." He bid Emma farewell one last time before entering the hotel. Emma remained on the sidewalk for a few seconds, smiling.

"He really is unbelievable..." Then she headed back toward the metro. Meanwhile, Aldric went up to his room. He closed the door behind him, leaned his sword against the wall, and sat down on the edge of the bed. △ NEW SIDE QUEST △ Participate in a Marathon"I thought as much." The System had just confirmed Emma's words. So this wasn't merely an outing. It truly was a trial. A quest. He calmly closed the window.

"I will need to prepare seriously." On Saturday morning, Aldric opened his eyes well before sunrise. Ever since the day before, the quest had never left his thoughts. The System had confirmed that he was to participate in a marathon, and even if this strange modern version bore little resemblance to any trial he had ever known, a hero never undertook a mission without proper preparation.

He threw back his blanket, knelt for a few moments to work the last traces of stiffness from the night out of his body, then methodically opened his travel pack. The first thing he packed was his large leather waterskin. A long march demanded constant hydration, especially if it was to be undertaken in armor. He checked the stopper, filled it with fresh water, then fastened it securely to the side of his pack. Next came several travel rations, carefully wrapped in thick cloth.

Dried meat, country bread, a handful of dried fruit, and several pieces of cheese sturdy enough to survive several days on the road. He counted them once, thought for a few seconds, then added two more portions.

"Better to carry too much than run out of provisions." He continued his inspection. A rolled wool blanket was strapped beneath the pack. A coil of several meters of rope followed immediately afterward. How many times had it allowed him to climb a cliff, descend into a ravine, or pull a wounded companion out of a trap? Even if Emma insisted this wasn't a real marathon, no veteran would ever set out without rope. His camp knife went into a side pocket next.

It wasn't meant for combat, but for preparing meals, cutting branches, or repairing equipment. Beside it, he packed a small medical kit containing bandages, several vials of healing balm, and a few medicinal herbs from his former world. Serious injuries naturally required the skills of a true healer, but these supplies were more than sufficient to treat a sprain or a cut. He then opened a small wooden box containing several faintly glowing mana stones. He hesitated for a moment before taking four. Then five.

After another moment of thought, he finally closed the box with six stones inside.

"If this trial lasts until nightfall..." They went into the bottom of the pack. He then added several changes of clothes. A clean tunic, a pair of thick socks, and a light shirt for periods of rest. Finally, he packed a small flask of oil for maintaining the joints of his armor. A long march was enough to make the metal begin to creak. He had no intention of allowing his equipment to deteriorate. The pack was already becoming heavy. Aldric lifted it effortlessly with one hand. He quickly estimated its weight.

"Satisfactory." His eyes then fell on a folded tent leaning against the wall of the room. His fingers came to rest thoughtfully on his chin.

"A marathon consisting of several films... If each film lasts several hours, the trial could easily extend over several days." He pictured the participants being forced to sleep along the way. The tent suddenly seemed perfectly justified. He picked it up, then looked at the already bulky size of his pack. In the end, he set the tent back down.

"We will probably pass through several villages." The thought seemed reasonable. He closed his pack for good before beginning an entirely different kind of preparation. His training. He pushed the furniture aside to clear enough space in the room. He began his stretches slowly. Neck, shoulders, back, legs. Every movement was precise and perfectly controlled. After years of war, his body knew this routine by heart. Poor preparation could result in an injury before a campaign had even begun.

He followed with several sets of squats, a few push-ups, and a series of exercises to loosen his shoulders. Then he took up his sword. Despite the limited space, he slowly performed several practice sequences, more to awaken his muscle memory than to truly train. Satisfied with his warm-up, Aldric emptied his waterskin to rehydrate himself. He then sat on the edge of his bed to inspect his boots one last time. He cleaned the soles, tightened the laces, and checked every stitch one by one.

"They should hold without any difficulty." Meanwhile, several kilometers away, Emma was quietly finishing her breakfast. Unlike Aldric, her preparations took no more than a few minutes. She picked up her handbag, slipped her phone into one of the pockets, checked that the marathon tickets were saved on it, then added a few candies, a packet of tissues, and a small bottle of water. Once she had put on her jacket, she looked at herself in the mirror and smiled.

"There." As she was about to leave her apartment, she paused for a few seconds by the door. An amused smile appeared at the corner of her lips as she thought back to the adventures she'd been having ever since meeting Aldric.

"With him... something is bound to happen today." She simply had no idea what. An hour later, Emma arrived in front of the movie theater. After quickly checking her phone, she saw that Aldric should be there any minute. She had barely looked up when she spotted him at the end of the street. The hero walked toward her with his usual confident stride. His armor gleamed beneath the morning sun, and his enormous sword still rested across his back.

But what immediately caught Emma's attention was the massive hiking backpack he was carrying. It rose well above his shoulders, a rolled blanket hung from one side, a waterskin was fastened to his belt, and pouches were attached all over it. When he reached her, he greeted her as usual.

"Good morning, Emma." She immediately pointed at the enormous backpack.

"Why... do you have a backpack?"

"For the marathon." Emma fell silent.

"It contains three days' worth of provisions."

"Three days?" As though that explained everything, Aldric immediately opened his pack.

"I also brought a blanket." He took it out. Then a large waterskin.

"A reserve of water." Next came several bags of food.

"Rations." Then a medical kit.

"In case one of the participants is injured." Emma watched each new item appear with increasingly wide eyes. Aldric continued his inventory.

"Mana stones. Spare clothes. Rope. Oil for my armor." At last, he closed the pack with a satisfied nod.

"I believe I am properly prepared." She pressed a hand to her forehead.

"Oh... no..."

"Is there a problem?" She looked back up at him.

"You still think we're going to be running..."

"Isn't that the whole point of a marathon?" Emma suddenly pictured Aldric crossing Paris with his enormous backpack while everyone else sat comfortably inside an air-conditioned theater watching Star Wars. The image was so ridiculous that she burst out laughing.

"Emma... are you quite all right?" It took Emma several seconds to catch her breath. Every time her eyes fell back on the massive hiking backpack strapped to Aldric's shoulders, another fit of laughter threatened to begin.

"We're really not going to be running."

"You've already told me that."

"Then look at this instead." She opened the electronic tickets and handed him her phone. Two digital tickets appeared on the screen, displaying several lines of text, a theater number, a showtime, and a strange code made up of tiny black squares. Aldric traced each line with his finger before handing the phone back to Emma with a slight nod.

"I understand."

"Oh?"

"So the organizers issue participation passes before the trial begins. That explains why every participant has a ticket."

"That's not exactly..." She gestured toward the crowd already gathered outside the entrance. Hundreds of people formed a long line stretching across the plaza. Several were dressed as Jedi, Stormtroopers, or Darth Vader. Others were taking pictures, while conversations filled the entire queue.

"I didn't expect this trial to attract so many participants."

"Yes, it's a major event." Aldric nodded. The tickets, the crowd, the costumes... everything confirmed what he had believed since the day before. Yet as they slowly moved forward in line, one detail began to trouble him. No one was warming up. Not a single participant was stretching. No one was checking their shoes. He searched for waterskins, supply packs, or food provisions like his own. He saw almost none.

The participants chatted casually, some sipped coffee, others ate croissants as though no physical trial awaited them.

"Their preparations seem surprisingly light."

"You'll see."